Malaysia orders block of The Pirate Bay, MegaUpload, FileServe, more

The media industry in Malaysia is regulated by the Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (SKMM, translated as Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission). The SKMM has the power to implement and enforce the provisions of the communications and multimedia law, regulate all matters relating to communications and multimedia activities not provided for in the communications and multimedia law, and to recommend reforms to existing law.

The SKMM sent a memo to ISPs last week titled "Request For Action Under Section 263(2) of The Communications and Multimedia Act CMA 1998," ordering them to completely block various file sharing websites. This was one month after the country's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak promised that his administration would never censor the Internet.

The document uncovered by Wirawanweb and dated May 30, 2011 revealed that the SKMM is now fighting online copyright infringement. The memo ordered all Malaysian ISPs to immediately block the following 10 popular file sharing websites:

http://www.warez-bb.org

http://thepiratebay.org

http://www.movie2k.to

http://www.megavideo.com

http://www.putlocker.com

http://www.depositfiles.com

http://www.duckload.com

http://www.fileserve.com

http://www.filetube.com

http://www.megaupload.com

The letter, signed by Acting Senior Director of the Digital Security Services Division, Eneng Faridah Iskandar, says the aforementioned URLs have been found by the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-Operative & Consumerism (KPDNKK) to be in contravention of law in Malaysia. This is because they breach Section 41 of the Copyright Act 1987. The ISPs were given two days to comply upon receiving the letter, and told that failure to do so is an offense under Section 242 of Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

Reports are coming in that some ISPs blocked all of the URLs in question for at least a few days. Not all of the ISPs complied, however, despite the legal threat.